Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vaporizing devices and bee keeping tools. More specifically, the present invention pertains to a pressurized vaporizer device for delivering a pesticide to a bee hive for the purposes of killing varroa mites and similar honey bee pests.
Honey bees are a type of bee that are distinguished for their ability to construct large colonies of wax and honey structures, in which the colony produces large quantities of harvestable and consumable honey. An entire industry is dedicated to harvesting the honey from honey bee colonies, where the bees are allowed to build colonies in controlled areas for later extraction of the honey for human consumption. Beekeepers generally utilize a smoke generator for the purposes of stunning or dispersing bees while working in proximity to the bee hive. This allows the beekeeper, while being covered by protective clothing, to approach the hive without causing a large swarm of bees to develop in the process as a reaction to the presence of the beekeeper. Beekeepers are charged with the maintenance and health of the colony, as the honey byproduct of the hive is harvested and sold as a product and source of income. Therefore careful monitoring of the bee colony is required, including the prevention of large scale infestation of pests, disease and even colony collapse disorder (CCD) that can eradicate an entire colony in a short amount of time.
One type of honey bee pest that is particularly dangerous to the overall health of the colony is the vorroa mite, which is a parasitic mite that feeds on the bodily fluids of adult, pupal and larval bees. Associated with the mite itself are associated viruses that the mites transfer to the bees, including Kakugo virus (KV) and cloudy wing virus (CWV), which both can cause collapsing colonies and loss of honey production for the beekeeper. Common methods of treating mite infestation include various chemical treatments that target the mite while minimizing damage to the colony structure and the bees themselves. These include various liquid, solid and vapor injected pesticides that target the mites and are injected directly into the colony.
The present invention relates to a new pesticide dispenser device, wherein a solid pesticide is housed, vaporized and controllably dispensed into a bee colony using compressed air. The device includes an elongated body section having a proximal end for loading granular pesticide material, which flows towards the body distal end where it is heated, vaporized and forced through a nozzle. A beekeeper connects the device to an air compressor, where a continuous stream of air pressure maintains the outward discharge of vapor, while a secondary valve provides bursts of air pressure as desired. The heating of the pesticide is operated by a coiled heating element along the distal end of the device body section, which rapidly heats and vaporizes the material using electrical resistance heating. The pressurized dispensing and increased control over the vapor protects the beekeeper for ingesting poisonous vapor, while also allowing improved control over its dispensation into a bee hive.
Description of the Prior Art
Devices have been disclosed in the prior art that relate to pesticide dispensers and beekeeping devices. These include devices that have been patented and published in patent application publications, and generally relate to smokers and heated vaporizers without a means to forcibly dispense the vapor from the device. The forgoing is a list of devices deemed most relevant to the present disclosure, which are herein described for the purposes of highlighting and differentiating the unique aspects of the present invention, and further highlighting the drawbacks existing in the prior art.
Specifically, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,025 to Scheuneman discloses an apparatus and method of treating honey bee diseases and killing mites within a hive using a formic acid vapor and a delivery device therefor. The delivery device comprises an evaporation chamber that is heated by an electrical element that is maintained by a mechanical thermostat, where the acid becomes a volatile material that is dispensed through metered apertures from the chamber. The thermostat and metered apertures are utilized as a means to control the output of vaporized material, while the structure of the chamber includes a reservoir and construction that is largely unaffected by corrosive chemicals such as formic acid. The Scheuneman device, while providing a means and method of killing honey bee varroa and tracheal mites, provides a structure that utilizes a heated chamber of acid, as opposed to a pressurized, heated and metered vaporizer that includes a tapered cylinder for dispensing a chemical vaporized pesticide material.
Another such device is U.S. Published Patent Application Publication No. 2011/0078944 to Stearns, which discloses an improved bee smoker for controlling bees for a beekeeper, wherein the device comprises a housing having a power source, heating element, fan and control switches for operation. The device creates smoke on-demand for the user without utilizing a constantly burning source that otherwise has little control over its continued operation. The heating element smolders a fuel source to generate smoke without causing combustion, while a flow mechanism dispenses the generated smoke through an aperture for use controlling bees around a hive. The Stearns device, while designed for controlled use around bee hives, does not disclose an air pressure source for vaporizing a bee pest killer, as described in the present invention. The structure, elements and intent of the present invention differ from that of Stearns.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 7,578,722 to Baumgartner discloses a device for vaporizing and blowing pesticide into a bee hive, comprising a housing having a discharge end, an internal heater, a fan positioned within the rear of the housing and a pesticide receptacle that is placed into the upper portion of the housing. A dosimeter cavity fills with pesticide beneath the receptacle, which is controlled by a slide that dispenses pesticide onto the heating element for vaporization. The fan then blows the vaporized pesticide through the discharge end of the housing. While providing a vaporizing device, the Baumgartner device does not include a forced air inlet for forcibly dispensing vapor from its structure, as disclosed in the present invention, while the present invention further includes controls over the heating elements for vaporization and dispensing control.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,873 to Simmonds discloses a similar device as the Baumgartner device, wherein a handheld vapor polishing device is described having a vaporizing chamber, a container for storing plastic solvent and a thermostatically controlled electric heating element for heating the solvent. A downwardly facing guide tube dispenses vaporized solvent onto plastic surfaces for polishing purposes. The container is inverted and connected to the body of the device, which further contains the heating element heat the downwardly flowing solvent before sending the vapor through the guide tube outlet. The Simmonds device is one that utilizes a heating element and a gravity fed process of transferring liquid solvent into the vapor. The present invention provides a pressurized heating device for vaporizing a bee pest chemical.
The present invention provides a means to both vaporize and forcibly dispense a pesticide material into a beehive colony, allowing the vapor to be injected into the colony and away from the beekeeper user. Pressure is derived from an attached air compressor that maintains a constant flow of air from the device, while a secondary valve allows for increased burst pressure as desired by the user. It is submitted that the structure and function of the present invention is substantially divergent in elements from the prior art, and consequently it is clear that there is a need in the art for an improvement to existing vapor pesticide dispensing devices. In this regard the instant invention substantially fulfills these needs.